


For Its Own Joy

by Mayarene Rose (Paradise_of_Mary_Jane)



Series: FlashVibe Week Summer 2016 [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: First Meeting, M/M, flowershop au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 08:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7837414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paradise_of_Mary_Jane/pseuds/Mayarene%20Rose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The flower shop isn’t anything remarkable, really; practically hidden away in a secluded alley of the big city. But, hey, it has a four and a half star review on toptenreviews.com so Cisco goes with it. He’s getting a bit desperate.</p><p>In which Cisco buys flowers to appease Caitlin and meets a cute shop guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Its Own Joy

**Author's Note:**

> For day 1 of Flashvibe week. Originally meant to be much longer but *shrugs* I'm lazy.
> 
> Title is from an Oscar Wilde quote.
> 
> Enjoy!

The flower shop isn’t anything remarkable, really; practically hidden away in a secluded alley of the big city. But, hey, it has a four and a half star review on toptenreviews.com so Cisco goes with it. He’s getting a bit desperate.

“If I wanted to tell someone that they’re the most wonderful friend in the world, and she should definitely not kill me because of how amazing friends we are, what flower should I buy?” Cisco says, leaning against the counter. The shop guy looks up and smiles a little confusedly. He’s wearing a dark apron with the name of the store written on it in fancy script. The walls are decorated by flowers that Cisco hadn’t even known existed. He thinks that he definitely went to the right place.

“Well, uh Chrysanthemums, probably,” the guy says. “If your friend’s into flower meanings that is.”

Is she? Cisco doesn’t know. Caitlin’s never mentioned anything like that, but her grandmother does have an extensive flower garden. And Ronnie brings her flowers all the time so she must not hate them.

Whatever. Cisco goes with his gut.

“Great! I need about three dozen of those.” The shop guy’s eyebrows jump in surprise. Cisco feels himself turn red.

“I swear I have a perfectly good explanation for this,” Cisco says. “Like a really, really good explanation.” The shop guy’s smile widens into a grin as he turns to arrange his flowers and okay, Cisco’s willing to admit it, he’s more than a little bit cute. In the shy smile, and huge doe eyes sort of way. If Cisco were a braver man, he totally would have asked for the guy’s number.

“A perfectly good explanation for buying three dozen Chrysanthemums?” the guy asks, teasing.

“So I have this friend and I may have beaten her in a prank war and she’s really not happy with me,” Cisco says. “I’m hoping this will appease her.”

“But three dozen flowers? For real?”

“Hey! We take our prank wars very seriously.” Very, very seriously in Caitlin’s case. Man, pranking her was just not a good idea, just as everyone in the lab had told him. Cisco should really learn to listen to reason one of these days.

The guy laughs and hands him his order: three bouquets of pink flowers. Cisco takes it and tries to keep eye contact with the guy without it being awkward. He’s still considering asking for they guy’s number but… like Cisco said, braver men. Cisco pays, blushing even more. Damn, the guy is really cute.

“Come back next time,” the guy says. “Buying three dozen flowers not required.”

“I think I will,” Cisco says. He doesn’t know why he says it since he can’t even imagine another situation where he’ll need flowers from an out of the way flower shop happening for the rest of his life.

He won’t admit to practically running out the store. Not on pain of death.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


Caitlin loves the flowers and actually promises that she’s not going to exact revenge for the prank war with Ronnie. His research is going well and Hartley comes down with a bad case of the flu and so won’t be at the lab for at least a week. All things considered, things are going well for Cisco Ramon.

And okay, he finds himself back in the flower shop with the cute guy, despite the fact that there are about three other flower shops that are much closer to Star Labs. And the fact that he really doesn’t need flowers.

He goes back four more times. He orders way too many flowers he doesn’t need; Iris, Heathers, Gardenias, Orchids, and Roses, of course. Because he really is that much of a cliché. Whatever, his mother gets a delivery of way too much flowers and whatever’s left over he leaves lying around in the lab. Everyone needs flowers at some point in their lives, right?

He still doesn’t know the guy’s name.

It’s totally cool, though. He has a plan. It’s a good plan; Caitlin might call him an idiot for it, but it’s a good plan. He just needs to put the plan into action.

Cisco can’t deny that he’s more than a little bit delighted when he sees it’s the cute guy standing behind the counter again. There’s always a chance he won’t be, but somehow, he always is. Cisco doesn’t want to call it fate because he’s a scientist, but statistically speaking, he’s willing to say that the universe really, really wants them to be bros, at the very least.

And maybe even something more? Cisco has a plan and this is the moment he finds out just how much the universe wants the two of them to be together.

“So sunflowers,” he says.

“Sunflowers?”

“Yeah,” Cisco says. Plan. Stick to the plan. “I want to buy sunflowers.”

“Sunflowers?” the guy says, his eyebrows jumping. “Those are huge, though, so I wouldn’t recommend buying dozens of them.”

For the week and a half that Cisco has come to the flower shop, he’s bought around twenty dozen flowers. It’s absolutely mortifying. And expensive. Really, really expensive.

“No, no, just one. One sunflower.”

“Okay then,” the guy says. “Dare I ask what this is for?” He reaches behind the counter and hands a single sunflower to Cisco.

Cisco’s heart thuds loudly in his chest. In theory, his plan is simple. Apparently, not so much in practice.

Cisco takes the flower.

“So I googled flower meanings because I thought that if anyone would appreciate that, it would be you. You do like flower meanings, right? I’m sort of assuming from the Chrysanthemum thing, but…” Cisco’s mind is shouting at him to quit rambling and get to the point. Again, not so simple in practice. The shop guy hides a laugh behinds his hands. Cisco is almost sure that it’s an amused laugh and not a ‘dear God get this nerd out my shop’ laugh. “Anyway, I saw that sunflowers apparently symbolize sunshine? Who knew right? And you’re a lot like sunshine, so.”

Cisco hands the flower back to the shop guy.

“Will you go out with me?”

Plan in effect. Now, Cisco knows he’s a scientist, but really, it’s anyone’s guess if the plan was a success. The odds are maybe 50-50, if Cisco’s brain still functions enough for statistics. The shop guy takes the flower, dumbfounded. His lips are twitching. Cisco absolutely has no idea if that is good or bad.

“Please say something,” he says.

“Uh, sure. I’d like that,” the guy says and if Cisco’s heart had been thudding in his chest earlier, now it’s jumped to his throat. He can’t testify to breathing anymore. The shop guy clears his throat. “We should probably start with names, though. I’m Barry.”

Cisco smiles and Barry grins back. He breathes a sigh of relief.

“Cisco,” he says.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


Barry turns up at their first date with a huge bouquet of assorted flowers.

Cisco doesn’t ask. He takes the flowers and offers an arm to Barry.

Now time for some Princess Bride jam.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


It becomes a tradition for them. Barry knows more about flower meanings—perks of working in a flower shop—but Cisco has the power of Google on his side. They make up a game of who can find the most obscure meaning for the most obscure flower.

(Truth be told, Cisco thinks that Barry already won it when he brought a bouquet of Arbutus—a flower Cisco hadn’t even known existed because he is an engineer not a botanist—the first time he told Cisco he loved him.)

(Cisco had been too surprised to say it back and Barry left in a flurry of embarrassed half apologies. He spends half the night on Google and goes to Barry’s place with a bunch of Ambrosias and two cups of coffee.)

(Barry instantly perks up when he sees the Ambrosias and kisses Cisco full on the mouth.

They have the best sex they’ve ever had after.)

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


Cisco walks into his workroom one day to find dozens of purple flowers and Caitlin and Ronnie, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“Your boyfriend really goes all out doesn’t he?” Ronnie says with a low whistle. Cisco swats at him absently. They’re still slightly pissed at him for keeping the relationship secret for so long. So he may not have told his friends about Barry until much after they were going steady. Totally not his fault, though. He just assumed that they already knew because he is not subtle, and he’s pretty sure he’s spent the first two months grinning like an idiot.

(Truth be told, he still grins like an idiot most of the time.)

(He says ‘told’ but really it had been Caitlin and Ronnie coming over to his apartment to find him carrying a bouquet of Begonias from Barry.

“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Caitlin had asked, sounding offended. Apparently, he has been subtler than he thought. Huh.

“I thought you already knew!”

Caitlin gives him a look. Cisco gives Caitlin a look right back. Ronnie is grinning at the two of them like this is the funniest thing he’s seen in a while.

He kicks them out of his apartment shortly after that, claiming the excuse of being tired.

“We are talking about this later,” Caitlin said. “I want details.”)

Sure, he expected Barry to send him flowers for their anniversary, but not like, the entire stock of their shop. It’s awkwardly sweet, and a bit creepy, so maybe Cisco should have expected it.

Cisco doesn’t answer, too busy trying to wrap his head around the fact that he is, in fact, dating Barry Allen: Sweetest Man Alive.

“By any chance, do you know what sort of flowers these are?” he asks. Ronnie shrugs. Neither of them know about the ongoing competition the couple has.

“Forget-me-nots, I think,” Caitlin says. “My grandmother has some in her garden.”

“Forget-me-nots, right.” Score one for Barry. Cisco makes a mental note to Google it later. One of these days, he really should take up Botany to keep up with Barry’s weirdly specific knowledge on flower meanings. But then, he wouldn’t have the flutter in his chest whenever Barry manages to get flower he doesn’t know about. He makes shooing motions at Caitlin and Ronnie.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun,” he says. “Nothing to see her. Shoo and go science.”

“I still haven’t met this boyfriend,” Caitlin says. “I’m starting to feel neglected, Cisco.”

Cisco holds his hands up.

“Okay, okay. We’re going to have a double date one of these days and you and Ronnie can embarrass me to your hearts’ content, I promise,” he says. “Now I have to call The Boyfriend and thank him for the flowers.”

“Good,” Caitlin says, nodding approvingly.

Caitlin and Ronnie leave soon after that. Cisco takes his phone out and calls Barry to tell him how awesome a boyfriend he is.

He doesn’t know what flower is most fitting for this situation but he thinks Barry will understand all the same.

  
  


 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [This ](http://www.perfect-wedding-day.com/flower-meanings-bridal-flowers.html) is where I found the flower meanings, if anyone's interested.
> 
> I'm on [Tumblr](https://www.daisyetcisco.tumblr.com)! Come say hi!


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